Best known for voicing Hayley on American Dad!, Rachael MacFarlane, creator Seth MacFarlane’s sister, has released her debut album, Hayley Sings, timed nicely to coincide with the new season’s premiere episode on Fox on Sunday night in the US.

The eighth season has kicked off in earnest, and Rachel MacFarlane has released an excellent music video for the song, Makin’ Whoopee, the opening track on the new record, and one of the two songs from the album heard in the first episode.

“Hayley Sings is the debut album from American Dad! star Rachael MacFarlane. MacFarlane voices the beloved animated character of Hayley Smith on the Emmy nominated television show, American Dad!, currently in its seventh season. The 14-track playlist is inspired by music from the 60s and 70s. “When I was growing up, my dad introduced me to groups like Simon and Garfunkel and The Beatles and Crosby, Stills and Nash. So we decided to run with the idea of re-imagining music from my childhood, which would be appropriate for Hayley to sing.

Two of the album’s fourteen songs will be included on that season-opening episode of American Dad!. First is Someone to Watch Over Me, which introduces Hayley s vocal skills. It’s a song I’ve been singing since high school, says MacFarlane, We wanted to strip it down and create a quiet, introspective version with the small group. Second is Makin Whoopee, the album opener. The show’s producers, says MacFarlane, were going for a Fabulous Baker Boys feel, which was perfect for the storyline. Out of This World, is also on the album. The classic Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer song is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that Hayley is becoming romantically involved with an alien, and would be a great addition to a future episode’s soundtrack.

A few additional standards found their way onto the album. I m Glad There Is You is, says MacFarlane, my father s favorite. It is really stripped down just me with George Doering on guitar and it’s a love letter to all the musicians, and everyone else, who made [the album] possible.

The remaining tracks are all drawn from the 1960s and 70s. Paul Simon’s Feelin Groovy , Tedd Firth of the Chiffons 1963 hit, One Fine Day, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. A second Goffin-King composition, Up On the Roof, also made the cut. To close the album, MacFarlane chose Lennon and McCartney’s All My Loving, arranged and conducted by Matt Catingub with just Doering’s guitar and a bank of strings.”

Hayley Sings is available to buy now in the US and UK. If you’re reading this in the States, you can click here to buy it on iTunes, or click here to buy the CD itself through Amazon. And here in the UK, you can click here to buy the digital download through Amazon.

American Dad! is airing on Sunday nights at 9:30/8:30c on Fox. For now, here’s the music video for Makin’ Whoopee, followed by the trailer for the weekend’s season premiere. Enjoy.

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And just for fun, because this scene is amazing:

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[Just for the record, for those who haven’t seen the episode, Hayley thinks Stan is somebody else here.]

Since graduating, I spend as much time as possible watching films/TV shows, reading books, and listening to music. So getting to write about what I love is nothing short of awesome.
Biggest film-related hope for 2014/ever: Guy Ritchie announcing the RocknRolla sequel is finally moving forward.